IB Programme lifts teens to a higher level

Nov. 18, 2010

Written by

TAYLOR MURPHY

In 2007, Shore Regional introduced the International Baccalaureate, or IB, Programme.

There are only two other school districts in Monmouth County that offer the program, which the United Nations developed in 1968 for the children of parents working in government. The original goal was to ensure that these students would continuously learn no matter where they lived. Eventually, the program was open to all high school students.

At Shore, students enrolled in the program must perform 150 hours of community service and complete a course titled The Theory of Knowledge, or TOK. In this class, which is taught by Linda Ensor, students must write a paper on one of 10 topics and deliver a presentation.

The two-year program is designed to offer students a different view on their academic studies. What sets IB apart from Advanced Placement of Honors classes is the fact that it is an international program. Students who score high enough on the IB test taken at the end of their senior year may earn college credits.

Junior Mike O'Connell, 16, of Oceanport is in the IB program.

"We're currently studying the Spanish-American War," he says about his History of the Americas class. "In IB English, we just wrapped up "The Metamorphosis' by (Franz) Kafka and are beginning our work with (Fyodor Dostoevsky's) "Crime and Punishment.' " Mike and other students in IB meet weekly to discuss community service ideas and opportunities.

"So far I've participated in the crop walk and have helped with a clothing drive, and fundraising for UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) as well," he says.

IB "offers rigor, diversity and scholarship — an opportunity to blend all three together for the refinement of the student mind," says History of the Americas teacher Andrew Ker.

Melissa Roldan, 16, of West Long Branch likes the program.

"The IB experience has really changed my life," she says. "It has broadened my horizons toward just how far education can go."